Ventilated brake rotors

ABSTRACT

A brake rotor for attachment to a wheel of a vehicle may include an outer friction member and an inner friction member. The brake rotor may further include a plurality of fin elements connecting the outer friction member to the inner friction member. Each fin element may include first and second pillars that are connected by a bridge portion to define an opening in the fin element. The opening is configured to allow air to pass through the fin element.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle brake rotors. Morespecifically, the present disclosure relates to ventilated brake rotorswith heat dissipation fins and methods of manufacturing such rotors.

BACKGROUND

Brake rotors, or brake disks, are arranged to be mounted to and rotatewith a wheel hub of a vehicle as part of the vehicle's braking system.Brake rotors, for example, generally include two oppositely-facingannular friction surfaces which, during operation of the brakes, areengaged by two blocks of friction material (e.g., brake pads) that aremoved towards one another into contact with the two friction surfaces sothat frictional forces occur and slow the rotation of the rotor, andhence the wheel of the vehicle. These frictional forces, however, mayalso cause the rotors, brake pads, and caliper (which houses the brakepads and fits over the rotor) to become very hot, which may lead toreduced braking efficiency. High temperatures, for example, may causeproblems such as brake fade (temporary loss of braking due to thereduction of the friction coefficient between the friction material andthe brake rotor), brake fluid vaporization, component wear (includingthermal deformation of the brake rotors), and thermal judder (vibrationsthat the driver can feel and hear).

In order to reduce temperature/heat accumulation in the brake rotorsthat is caused by the frictional forces, rotors may include, forexample, vents that are cast into the edge of the rotor to allow theheat that has built up on the metal of the rotor to escape. Conventionalventilated rotors may include, for example, friction members (whichcarry the oppositely-facing annular friction surfaces) that are arrangedin a spaced-apart parallel relationship. The friction members are joinedby vanes or fins therebetween, which form cooling ducts extendingradially and outwardly of the rotor. The cooling ducts are arranged sothat, as the rotor is rotated, air passes through the ducts and acts tocool the friction members.

Although such ventilated rotor designs provide some heat dissipationfrom the rotor (to help cool the friction members), the heat dissipationprovided is limited by the amount of fin surface area exposed to the airflow passing through the ducts. The air flow through each duct is, forexample, only exposed to one side of each fin, thereby limiting theamount of convective heat dissipation provided by each fin.

It may, therefore, be advantageous to provide a ventilated brake rotorwith an enlarged heat dissipation area to dissipate more heat energyfrom the rotor. It may also be advantageous to provide a ventilatedbrake rotor design that reduces the mass of the rotor.

SUMMARY

In accordance with various exemplary embodiments, a brake rotor forattachment to a wheel of a vehicle may include an outer friction memberand an inner friction member. The brake rotor may further include aplurality of fin elements connecting the outer friction member to theinner friction member. Each fin element may include first and secondpillars that are connected by a bridge portion to define an opening inthe fin element. The opening may be configured to allow air to passthrough the fin element.

In accordance with various additional exemplary embodiments, a brakerotor for attachment to a wheel of a motor vehicle may include an outerannular disk and an inner annular disk. The brake rotor may furtherinclude a plurality of fin elements extending radially between the outerand inner disks and connecting the outer disk to the inner disk. Eachfin element may include first and second pillars and a bridge portionconnecting the first and second pillars. The bridge portion may form aramp between the first and second pillars.

In accordance with various further exemplary embodiments, a method ofmanufacturing a brake rotor may include positioning a plurality of finelements between an outer friction member of the brake rotor and aninner friction member of the brake rotor. Each fin element may includefirst and second pillars that are connected by a bridge portion todefine an opening in the fin element. The fin elements may be arrangedso that, as the rotor is rotated, an air flow path is created along alength of each fin element. The openings in the fin elements may beconfigured so that, as the rotor is rotated, an air flow path is createdacross each fin element.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth inpart in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious fromthe description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. Theobjects and advantages of the disclosure will be realized and attainedby means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosure, as claimed.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

At least some features and advantages will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of embodiments consistent therewith,which description should be considered with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a ventilatedbrake rotor in accordance with the present disclosure, with a portion ofan inner friction member of the rotor broken away to show fin elements;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the brake rotor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the brake rotor of FIG. 1 takenthrough line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show detailed views of a fin element of the brake rotorof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, partial perspective view of the brake rotor ofFIG. 1, with the inner friction member removed to show the fin elements;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of aventilated brake rotor in accordance with the present disclosure, with aportion of an inner friction member of the rotor broken away to show finelements;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the brake rotor of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the brake rotor of FIG. 6 takenthrough line 8-8 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, partial perspective view of the brake rotor ofFIG. 6, with the inner friction member removed to show the fin elements.

Although the following detailed description makes reference toillustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, andvariations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matter be viewedbroadly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The variousexemplary embodiments are not intended to limit the disclosure. To thecontrary, the disclosure is intended to cover alternatives,modifications, and equivalents.

In accordance with various exemplary embodiments, the present disclosurecontemplates a ventilated brake rotor having an innovative fin designthat may both reduce the mass of the rotor and improve the heatdissipation capacity of the rotor. For instance, the exemplaryembodiments described herein utilize fin elements having an increasedheat dissipation area (i.e., the area of each fin that is in contactwith air flowing through each ventilation channel of the rotor). Variousexemplary embodiments described herein, for example, contemplate aventilated brake rotor comprising a plurality of fin elements, each finelement having first and second pillars that are connected by a bridgeportion to define an opening in the fin element that may allow air topass through the fin element. In this manner, as the rotor is rotated,an air flow path may be created both along a length of each fin element(i.e., between the fin elements) and across a width of each fin element(i.e., through the fin elements), thereby also generating turbulenceacross the fin elements to dissipate heat from the rotor. Furthermore,removing a portion of each fin element (i.e., to form the opening ineach fin element) reduces the mass of each fin element, and the overallmass of the rotor itself.

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a ventilated brake rotor100 in accordance with the present disclosure. The brake rotor 100includes an outer friction member 102 that is connected to an innerfriction member 104 by a plurality of fin elements 106, 108. The brakerotor 100, for example, further includes a hub mounting surface 110 thatextends from the outer friction member 102 to connect the brake rotor100 to a wheel (not shown) of a motor vehicle (not shown). As best shownin the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the hub mounting surface 110 maybe connected to the outer friction member 102 of the rotor 100 via, forexample, a neck portion 111. The hub mounting surface 110 may, forexample, include a plurality of bore holes 113, which are configured toreceive lug bolts (not shown) to attach the rotor 110 to the wheel ofthe motor vehicle. In this manner, the outer friction member 102 isconfigured to face away from the vehicle when the rotor 100 is attachedto the wheel, and the inner friction member 104 is configured to facetowards the vehicle when the rotor 100 is attached to the wheel.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, in various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the outer and inner friction members 102 and 104 mayrespectively comprise outer and inner annular disks, and the finelements 106, 108 may extend radially between the outer and inner disksto create a plurality of ventilation channels 130 between the disks. Inthis manner, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the fin elements 106, 108 arearranged so that, as the rotor 100 is rotated (e.g., when the rotor 100is attached to a wheel of a motor vehicle), an air flow path F₁ iscreated within the ventilation channels 130 along a length of each finelement, 106, 108. In accordance with various embodiments, for example,as shown in FIG. 5, air inlets 132 to the ventilation channels 130 areprovided at inner edges of the outer and inner friction members 102 and104 so that the rotor 100 functions as a centrifugal fan driving airoutwardly through the ventilation channels 130 to air outlets 134 atouter edges of the outer and inner friction members 102 and 104.

As shown best perhaps in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5, each of the fin elements106, 108 includes respective first and second pillars 112 and 114 thatare connected by a bridge portion 116. The pillars 112, 114 and bridgeportion 116 define an arched-shaped opening 118 in each respective finelement 106, 108 that is configured to allow air (i.e., from theventilation channels 130) to pass through the fin elements 106, 108. Invarious embodiments, for example, the bridge portion 116 forms a ramp120 between the first and second pillars 112 and 114, such that theopening 118 has a rounded triangular shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5,for example, the openings 118 in the fin elements 106, 108 areconfigured such that, as the rotor 100 is rotated (e.g., when the rotor100 is attached to the wheel of the motor vehicle) an air flow path F₂is created across a width of each fin element 106, 108. For example, invarious embodiments, multiple airflow paths F₂ are created around therotor 100, including, for example, a separate airflow path F₂ for eachfin element 106, 108; and an airflow path F₂ that extends throughmultiple fin elements 106, 108 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. In thismanner, turbulence is also created across the fin elements 106, 108 todissipate heat from the rotor 100.

In other words, the fin elements 106, 108 are configured such that, asthe rotor 100 is rotated, air flows partially within each ventilationchannel 130 (along the airflow path F₁), and then partially though eachopening 118 in the fin elements 106, 108 (along the airflow path F₂).The air flowing through the openings 118 (along the airflow path F₂) maythen both partially continue through the adjacent openings 118 (i.e.,around the rotor 100) and partially out through the adjacent ventilationchannel 130. In this manner, the fin elements 106, 108 are configuredsuch that, as the rotor 100 is rotated, an airflow path F₃ is alsocreated that is a combination of airflow paths F₁ and F₂ (e.g., theairflow path F₁ may be extended by a length corresponding to the airflowpath F₂) in order to dissipate more heat from the rotor 100.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments, the plurality of fin elements may include first and secondalternating fin elements 106 and 108 arranged around a rotation axis ofthe rotor 100, such that the bridge portion 116 of each first finelement 106 is coupled to the inner friction member 104 of the rotor 100and the bridge portion 116 of each second fin element 108 is coupled tothe outer friction member 102 of the rotor 100. The present disclosure,however, contemplates brake rotors including any number, configuration(i.e., dimension and/or geometry), and/or orientation of fin elements106, 108. Those of ordinary skill in the art would understand,therefore, that the brake rotor 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 isexemplary only and intended to illustrate one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, brake rotors in accordance with the presentdisclosure may have various configurations and/or orientations offriction members and fin elements without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure and claims, and are not bound by any specificgeometries and/or orientations.

For example, in accordance with various additional embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a ventilated brake rotor may include a plurality offin elements all having the same orientation. As illustrated in FIGS.6-9, for example, in various embodiments, a brake rotor 200 may includean outer friction member 202 that is connected to an inner frictionmember 204 by a plurality of fin elements 206 arranged around a rotationaxis of the rotor 200 to create a plurality of ventilation channels 230.As shown in FIG. 9, similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, each of thefin elements 206 includes respective first and second pillars 212 and214, which are connected by a bridge portion 216 to define anarched-shaped opening 218 in each fin element 206. And, in variousembodiments, the bridge portions 216 each form a ramp 220 betweenrespective first and second pillars 212 and 214.

Similar to the openings 118 described above, the openings 218 areconfigured to allow air (i.e., from the ventilation channels 230) topass through the fin elements 206. Thus, similar to the rotor 100 ofFIGS. 1-5, as the rotor 200 is rotated (e.g., when the rotor 200 isattached to a wheel of a motor vehicle), the fin elements 206 create anair flow path F₁ within the ventilation channels 230 along a length ofeach fin element 206, and the openings 218 in the fin elements 206create an air flow path F₂ across a width of each fin element 206 tocreate turbulence across the fin elements 206. As above, in variousembodiments, multiple airflow paths F₂ are created around the rotor 200,including, for example, a separate airflow path F₂ for each fin element206; and an airflow path F₂ that extends through multiple fin elements206 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9.

Similar to the fin elements 106, 108, the fin elements 206 are alsoconfigured such that, as the rotor 200 is rotated, an airflow path F₃ iscreated that is a combination of airflow paths F₁ and F₂ (e.g., theairflow path F₁ may be extended by a length corresponding to the airflowpath F₂) in order to dissipate more heat from the rotor 200.

In various embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6-9, the bridge portion 216 ofeach fin element 206 is coupled to the inner friction member 204.Although not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art would understandthat in various additional embodiments, the bridge portion 216 of eachfin element 206 may instead be coupled to the outer friction member 202.

To verify and optimize the expected heat dissipation improvement andmass reduction of the ventilated brake rotors in accordance with thepresent disclosure versus conventional ventilated brake rotors,ventilated brake rotors in accordance with the present disclosure,similar to the brake rotors 100 (i.e., alternating fin elements) and 200(i.e., one-way fin elements) illustrated and described above withreference to FIGS. 1-9 were modeled in a computational fluid dynamic(CFD) model using FLUENT® software. A reference conventional ventilatedbrake rotor was also modeled in a CFD model for comparison purposes. AllCAD (Computer Aided Design) models were created using CATIA®.

Using the models, a design of experiment (DOE) was developed based onconventional manufacturing parameters (i.e., for molding the rotors) totest various rotor dimensions for optimization of: (1) mass flow rate ofair through the fin elements, and (2) heat flux from the fin elements.Exemplary dimensions and tolerances A-H (see, e.g., FIGS. 4A and 4B) forthe rotors 100 and 200 based on this analysis are presented below inTables 1-3.

TABLE 1 Optimization of Mass Flow Rate Inner Fric- Outer Fric- InnerFric- Outer Fric- Width of Width of Height from In- Height from Out-Predicted tion Member tion Member tion Member tion Member Second Firstner Friction Mem- er Friction Mem- Max Width, A Width, B Angle, C Angle,D Pillar, E Pillar, F ber to Ramp, G ber to Ramp, H Mass Flow [mm] [mm][deg] [deg] [mm] [mm] [mm] [mm] [kg/s] 10.6 10.6 88 88 9.3 12.8 1.2 5.30.054

TABLE 2 Optimization of Mass Heat Flux Inner Fric- Outer Fric- InnerFric- Outer Fric- Width of Width of Height from In- Height from Out-Predicted tion Member tion Member tion Member tion Member Second Firstner Friction Mem- er Friction Mem- Max Width, A Width, B Angle, C Angle,D Pillar, Pillar, F ber to Ramp, G ber to Ramp, H Heat Flux [mm] [mm][deg] [deg] E [mm] [mm] [mm] [mm] [kWatts] 10.6 10.6 88 88 9.3 11.2 1.25.3 14.374

TABLE 3 Manufacturing Variations Inner Fric- Outer Fric- Inner Fric-Outer Fric- Width of Width of Height from In- Height from Out- tionMember tion Member tion Member tion Member Second First ner FrictionMem- er Friction Mem- Width, A Width, B Angle, C Angle, D Pillar,Pillar, F ber to Ramp, G ber to Ramp, H [mm] [mm] [deg] [deg] E [mm][mm] [mm] [mm] +/−0.4 +/−0.4 +/−1 +/−1 +/−0.8 +/−0.8 +/−0.8 +/−0.8

The heat dissipation and mass of the optimized models were then comparedwith the reference model (i.e., of the conventional ventilated brakerotor) to verify the expected heat dissipation improvement and massreduction of each of the rotor designs (i.e., the alternating finelements and the one-way fin elements). Based on this comparison, it waspredicted that the rotors with alternating fin elements (i.e., rotor100) would exhibit about 5.5% to about 8.3% more heat dissipation thanthe conventional rotor, and would weigh about 2.2% to about 12.3% lessthan the conventional rotor. Similarly, it was predicted that the rotorswith one-way fin elements (i.e., rotor 200) would exhibit about 7% toabout 9.8% more heat dissipation than the conventional rotor, and wouldweigh about 1.3% to about 11.3% less than the conventional rotor.

As above, the present disclosure contemplates brake rotors havingvarious dimensions and/or orientations of friction members and finelements. Accordingly, the above dimensions and tolerances are notintended to be limiting of the present disclosure or the scope of theinvention herein. Rather, the dimensions and tolerances representexemplary embodiments of the various components depicted. Those havingordinary skill in the art would understand that modifications to suchdimensions and tolerances may be made as desired and in accordance withthe present disclosure without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The present disclosure further contemplates methods of manufacturing abrake rotor, such as, for example, the brake rotors 100 and 200described above with reference to FIGS. 1-9 in order to increase theconvective heat dissipation of the rotor. In accordance with variousexemplary embodiments, to increase the amount of heat dissipated fromthe brake rotor 100, 200, a plurality of fin elements 106, 108, 206 maybe positioned between an outer friction member 102, 202 of the brakerotor 100, 200 and an inner friction member 102, 202 of the brake rotor100, 200. As above, each fin element 106, 108, 206 includes first andsecond pillars 112, 212 and 114, 214 that are connected by a bridgeportion 116, 216 to define a single arch-shaped opening 118, 218 in thefin element 106, 108, 206.

Thus, as the rotor 100, 200 is rotated (e.g., when the rotor 100, 200 isattached to a wheel of a motor vehicle), the fin elements 106, 108, 206may create an air flow path F₁ along a length of each fin element 106,108, 206 (i.e., within ventilation channels 130, 230), and the openings118, 218 in the fin elements 106, 108, 206 may create an air flow pathF₂ across a width of each fin element 106, 108, 206 to create turbulenceacross the fin elements 106, 108, 206. In various embodiments, forexample, the openings 118, 218 in the fin elements 106, 108, 206 maycreate multiple airflow paths F₂ around the rotor 100, 200, including,for example, a separate airflow path F₂ for each fin element 106, 108,206; and an airflow path F₂ that extends through multiple fin elements106, 108, 206. In other words, in various embodiments, air flow movespartially within each ventilation channel 130, 230 (along an airflowpath F₁), and then partially though each opening 118, 218 in the finelements 106, 108, 206 (along an airflow path F₂). The air flowingthrough the openings 118, 218 (along the airflow path F₂) may then bothpartially continue through the adjacent openings 118, 218 (i.e., aroundthe rotor 100, 200) and partially out through the adjacent ventilationchannel 130, 230. In this manner, an airflow path F₃ is created that isa combination of airflow paths F₁ and F₂ (e.g., the airflow path F₁ maybe extended by a length corresponding to the airflow path F₂) in orderto dissipate more heat from the rotor 100, 200.

As shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, in various embodiments, theplurality of fin elements may include first and second alternating finelements 106 and 108, and the fin elements 106 and 108 may be positionedbetween the outer and inner friction members 102 and 104 such that thebridge portion 116 of each first fin element 106 is coupled to the innerfriction member 104 and the bridge portion 116 of each second finelement 108 is coupled to the outer friction member 102.

As shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 6-9, in various additionalembodiments, the plurality of fin elements may include fin elements 206with the same orientation, and the fin elements may be positionedbetween the outer and inner friction members 202 and 204 such that thebridge portion 216 of each fin element is coupled to the inner frictionmember 204. Although not shown, in various further embodiments, the finelements 206 may also be positioned between the outer and inner frictionmembers 202 and 204 such that the bridge portion 216 of each fin elementis coupled to the outer friction member 202.

The brake rotors 100, 200 may be manufactured using any known methodsand/or techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Invarious embodiments, for example, the brake rotors 100, 200 may be castfrom a molten metal, such as, for example, iron that is poured into amold. In various additional embodiments, the brake rotors 100, 200 maybe molded from a composited material, such as, for example, reinforcedcarbon-carbon, or a ceramic matrix composite.

While the present disclosure has been disclosed in terms of exemplaryembodiments in order to facilitate better understanding of thedisclosure, it should be appreciated that the disclosure can be embodiedin various ways without departing from the principle of the disclosure.Therefore, the disclosure should be understood to include all possibleembodiments which can be embodied without departing from the principleof the disclosure set out in the appended claims. Furthermore, althoughthe present disclosure has been discussed with relation to automotivevehicles, those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that thepresent teachings as disclosed would work equally well for any type ofvehicle having a braking system that utilizes brake rotors.

For the purposes of this specification and appended claims, unlessotherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, percentages orproportions, and other numerical values used in the specification andclaims, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by theterm “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, thenumerical parameters set forth in the written description and claims areapproximations that may vary depending upon the desired propertiessought to be obtained by the present disclosure. At the very least, andnot as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine ofequivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter shouldat least be construed in light of the number of reported significantdigits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

It is noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims,the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” include plural referents unlessexpressly and unequivocally limited to one referent. Thus, for example,reference to “a sensor” includes two or more different sensors. As usedherein, the term “include” and its grammatical variants are intended tobe non-limiting, such that recitation of items in a list is not to theexclusion of other like items that can be substituted or added to thelisted items.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the system and method of thepresent disclosure without departing from the scope its teachings. Otherembodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in theart from consideration of the specification and practice of theteachings disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andembodiment described herein be considered as exemplary only.

1. A brake rotor for attachment to a wheel of a vehicle, comprising: anouter friction member; an inner friction member; and a plurality of finelements connecting the outer friction member to the inner frictionmember, each fin element comprising first and second pillars that areconnected by a bridge portion to define an opening in the fin element,wherein the opening is configured to allow air to pass through the finelement.
 2. The brake rotor of claim 1, wherein the fin elements arearranged so that, as the rotor is rotated, an air flow path is createdalong a length of each fin element.
 3. The brake rotor of claim 2,wherein the openings in the fin elements are configured so that, as therotor is rotated, an air flow path is created across each fin element.4. The brake rotor of claim 3, wherein the air flow path across each finelement is configured to generate turbulence across the fin elements. 5.The brake rotor of claim 1, further comprising a hub mounting surfaceextending from the outer friction member and configured for connectionto the wheel of the vehicle.
 6. The brake rotor of claim 1, wherein theouter and inner friction members respectively comprise outer and innerannular disks, and wherein the fin elements extend radially between theouter and inner disks.
 7. The brake rotor of claim 1, wherein theplurality of fin elements includes first and second alternating finelements, and wherein the bridge portion of each first fin element iscoupled to the inner friction member and the bridge portion of eachsecond fin element is coupled to the outer friction member.
 8. The brakerotor of claim 1, wherein an orientation of each fin element is thesame.
 9. The brake rotor of claim 8, wherein the bridge portion of eachfin element is coupled to the outer friction member.
 10. The brake rotorof claim 8, wherein the bridge portion of each fin element is coupled tothe inner friction member.
 11. The brake rotor of claim 1, wherein thebridge portion forms a ramp between the first and second pillars.
 12. Abrake rotor for attachment to a wheel of a motor vehicle, comprising: anouter annular disk; an inner annular disk; and a plurality of finelements extending radially between the outer and inner disks andconnecting the outer disk to the inner disk, each fin element comprisingfirst and second pillars and a bridge portion connecting the first andsecond pillars, wherein the bridge portion forms a ramp between thefirst and second pillars.
 13. The brake rotor of claim 12, wherein thepillars and the ramp define an opening in each respective fin element.14. The brake rotor of claim 13, wherein the openings in the finelements are configured so that, as the rotor is rotated, an air flowpath is created across each fin element.
 15. The brake rotor of claim14, wherein the air flow path across each fin element is configured togenerate turbulence across each fin element.
 16. The brake rotor ofclaim 12, further comprising a hub mounting surface extending from theouter friction member and configured for connection to the wheel of thevehicle.
 17. The brake rotor of claim 12, wherein the plurality of finelements includes first and second alternating fin elements, and whereinthe bridge portion of each first fin element is coupled to the innerdisk and the bridge portion of each second fin element is coupled to theouter disk.
 18. The brake rotor of claim 12, wherein the bridge portionof each fin element is coupled to the outer disk.
 19. The brake rotor ofclaim 12, wherein the bridge portion of each fin element is coupled tothe inner disk.
 20. The brake rotor of claim 12, wherein the outer diskis configured to face away from the vehicle when the rotor is attachedto the wheel, and wherein the inner disk is configured to face towardsthe vehicle when the rotor is attached to the wheel.
 21. A method ofmanufacturing a brake rotor, comprising: positioning a plurality of finelements between an outer friction member of the brake rotor and aninner friction member of the brake rotor, each fin element comprisingfirst and second pillars that are connected by a bridge portion todefine an opening in the fin element, wherein, each bridge portionextends from an interior surface of one of the friction members, andwherein each opening is further defined by an opposing interior surfaceof the other of the friction members.
 22. The method of claim 21,wherein the plurality of fin elements includes first and secondalternating fin elements, and wherein the positioning comprisespositioning the fin elements such that the bridge portion of each firstfin element is coupled to the inner friction member and the bridgeportion of each second fin element is coupled to the outer frictionmember.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the positioning comprisespositioning the fin elements such that the bridge portion of each finelement is coupled to the inner friction member.
 24. The method of claim21, wherein the positioning comprises positioning the fin elements suchthat the bridge portion of each fin element is coupled to the outerfriction member.
 25. The brake rotor of claim 1, wherein the opening hasa rounded triangular shape.